Hex, my gods damned familiar, was snoozing in the broken cauldron with the remaining two eggs.
And Casper was nowhere to be seen, which wasn’t out of the norm. It was probably for the best.
I took a moment to appreciate the blessing from the fates.
And then the peaceful moment burst.
A knock pounded on the front door, muffled through the strengthened enchantments and barely audible. It was no surprise I had slept through Fiella’s knocking earlier—it was barely louder than a squirrel crunching on an acorn.
Everyone froze, even Tandor, who gently grabbed Fiella’s wrist and pulled her hands away from the dragon to protect her from any startle. Her reflexes should have been faster, but Fiella was Fiella.
The knock sounded again.
“Are you going to get that?” Redd asked.
It took effort to lift my feet from the ground, they wanted to stay rooted. “Right. Sure. Yes. I’m going to answer the door.”
“Any time soon?” Redd prompted.
I laughed tightly. “Of course. It’s just?—”
“Just what?”
“I’m afraid to open the door. What if Ember runs out again?”
“We’ll catch him,” Redd said confidently. He glanced at Fiella and Tandor. Fiella, who shared most of his quick vampirereflexes, even though her Pa was human. And Tandor, who was big and strong enough to handle most beasts.
I was doubtful, and my face must have shown it.
“We can handle a baby dragon, princess,” Tandor said. “Answer the door.”
I still hadn’t managed to shake the “princess” nickname. I would never admit that it was growing on me.
Before I could move, another voice called out, “I’ll get it, Godsblood.”
Dropp, followed by a few other sprites, flew over to the door. To my absolute astonishment, the tiny creatures worked together to push through the enchantment, disengage the lock, and pull the door open. My jaw hung wide.
Somehow, some way, the tiny sprites were strong enough to pull open a door that had to be at least a hundred times their weight. It should have been impossible.
“No fucking way,” I said, shocked. “You guys can open the door?”
“Of course, Godsblood. How did you think we came and went?”
To be honest, I hadn’t ever thought about it. But it did make sense. They had caused all sorts of mischief in my shop, so of course they were capable of impressive feats.
I realized they could have done real damage to my shop, if they chose to. But they never did. Even back when I couldn’t communicate with them. Stupidly, my heart squeezed.
“Be ready!” I called to the room as a whole.
I had no hope of catching a dragon, even with my magic, so I simply braced myself and watched the door swing open, content to let the others save the day for once.
Ginger stood outside. “It’s about time!” she shouted. Her voice was ragged and cracked. “I’ve been screaming out here! Didn’t you hear me?”
“Sucks, doesn’t it?” Fiella muttered. “Been there.”
“It does! I was just—woah!” The faun yelped as the sprites grabbed onto her and yanked her into the building before slamming the door shut behind her. They pulled her by her cloak, her antlers, even locks of her auburn hair. She fluttered her hands helplessly.
The dragon bolted toward freedom, but he was too slow—the door slammed in his face.
